


Paint the memories golden

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Blindfolds, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Panic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 21:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20442563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Shadowhunters are taught to always stay aware of their surroundings. So what happens when Alec and Magnus go on a date and in order to keep the location as a surprise, Magnus blindfolds Alec?





	Paint the memories golden

**Author's Note:**

> Something a bit more lighthearted after the thing I posted a couple nights ago :)

“You want to do what?”

“Blindfold you,” Magnus repeats and Alec has to believe his ears this time. He had arrived to the loft with the intention to go on a date with Magnus and had been greeted by his boyfriend dressed elegantly as always and holding a silk scarf. 

“I want our destination to be a surprise to you,” Magnus explains.

“But we’re going to portal there, right?” Alec asks. “So it’s a surprise anyway.”

“Yes and no,” Magnus answers, providing no real answer. “I haven’t been to the exact spot so we have to do a bit of walking, and there’s something I need to do when we get there.”

“What are people going to think when I walk around with that thing over my eyes?” Alec asks, clearly apprehensive about the idea.

“They are going to be jealous because they are not being surprised,” Magnus answers like it’s obvious. “And since when have you worried about what people will think?”

Since birth, Alec almost replies. But he supposes it’s not quite as true anymore. He looks at Magnus for a moment, pondering the suggestion.

He’s sure he would look dumb, and he’s positive that the whole idea is pointless.

But at the same time, Magnus is looking at him with such an expectant look that Alec is finding it hard to deny him. Magnus is right, he doesn't need to worry about what people will think of him. They’re going to be somewhere away from New York, and Alec won’t meet any of the people ever again. This might not be something Alec would do without a push, but he knows that sometimes he needs that push and it does him good. 

With Magnus he’s experienced so many new things, some of which he’d never had tried on his own. Some have been a miss, but Magnus has been able to sense it or Alec has told him that he’d rather do something else. Alec is positive that Magnus would be okay with it if Alec didn’t want to do this, but at the same time Alec is starting to feel like he is overthinking this. 

He trusts Magnus, he’ll give this a chance. 

“Fine.”

“Fine?” Magnus asks, making sure. Alec marvels at how happy his expression is, and he knows he made the right choice.

“Yes,” Alec says and leans down to kiss Magnus lightly on the lips. “I trust you.”

Magnus’s smile turns softer, and he leans in for another kiss.

“Turn over,” Magnus whispers, his lips brushing Alec’s.

Alec does as he’s told and faces the big windows. Magnus lifts the blindfold up over his eyes and after that, all Alec can see is darkness. The fabric is smooth and cold against his eyes, and he feels hyper-aware of the soft brushes of Magnus’ warm fingers over his temples.

Magnus fastens the blindfold tightly, but the fabric is silky, and the knot starts to unfurl immediately. Magnus ties it again, and this time the pull is accompanied by a whisper of magic all around the fabric.

“It should stay in place now,” Magnus says and turns Alec over, his hands on Alec's shoulders guiding him. “Let me know if you want me to take it off, okay?”

Magnus’ fingers brush against the skin on Alec’s cheek, just below the blindfold. Alec keeps a hold on Magnus’ arms, relying on the sense of touch more heavily now when his vision has been blocked.

“I will.”

“Okay,” Magnus says, moving so he’s standing next to Alec and Alec can loop his arm around Magnus’. “Let’s go.”

Alec can hear that Magnus has opened a portal, can feel the wind of it on his skin. Magnus starts walking forward and Alec follows, his stomach dropping when he suddenly steps in.

The only thing that keeps him steady is the iron tight grip he has on Magnus’ arm.

The air around him feels warmer now, heavier with moisture. He breathes in deeply through his nose but the smell doesn’t give him any clue about where they could be. He can hear talking, but so many people are talking at the same time that it’s impossible to understand what language they are speaking.

“Are you okay?” Magnus asks, giving Alec time to adjust to their new surroundings before they move forward.

“Yes,” Alec says. “I just wish I had activated a few runes before this.”

While he’s using his sense of hearing more than he normally would be, he’s also unable to focus on one noise long enough to analyze it properly. He’s also feeling clumsy, a product of being unable to tell where his foot will land next. He doesn’t seem to be able to trust his sense of depth.

Shadowhunters are trained to always be alert, to always be ready. He feels uncharastically vulnerable when one of his senses is taken away. But the sensation isn’t strong enough to warrant asking Magnus to take the blindfold off.

He’s with Magnus, he’s not afraid.

“It isn’t a long walk,” Magnus promises and starts to guide Alec forward.

They walk slowly and the sound of people starts to get louder. There are more voices now and Alec recognizes that most of them are in Spanish. Are they in Spain? Mexico?

“Just a little while longer, darling,” Magnus says as he leads Alec to their destination. Magnus’ voice is smooth and calming, and it causes chills to run down Alec’s spine as the words are said next to his ear.

Magnus is a tall line of warmth against Alec’s side, his arm under Alec’s grip solid. When Alec focuses on that, he can almost ignore the fact that he has no clue what is happening around them.

There seems to be more people around them now, more voices and more bodies brushing against Alec’s. Alec starts walking slower, afraid that someone is going to bump into him.

And just his luck, someone does.

The person who collides with him is moving fast and the impact almost throws Alec off balance. On instinct he lets go of Magnus’ arm, just so he can move his arms to regain the balance. 

The stranger who collided with him says something in Spanish and while Alec doesn’t understand the words, the tone makes it clear that it wasn’t an apology.

Then all he can hear is the mass of people around him, and he assumes the man continued on his way. All he can feel are the people bumping on him, and panic strikes as he can’t feel Magnus. He tenses up, staying completely still in hopes that Magnus will find him in the crowd of people if he just stays where he is. He reaches his hand out carefully, but when it only hits the people around him, he withdraws it close to his body.

He doesn’t know where he is and what is around him. He doesn’t know where Magnus is.

This is no longer fun so he reaches up to take the stupid blindfold off but it doesn’t budge. He tugs and he claws but it stays stubbornly in place. Magnus’ spell seems to be working a bit too well.

Alec doesn’t want to admit it even to himself, but he’s nothing if not a realist, and he recognizes the panic creeping in. What if Magnus can’t find him? How long does he need to stand here, blindfolded and looking stupid? What if something happens, because something always happens when he’s supposed to have a nice date with Magnus. There are just as many dangers in Spain as there are in New York, and these dangers will be able to catch Alec off guard.

He’s vulnerable in a foreign environment and he should be smarter than this.

Bodies keep bumping to his, the crowd seemingly thickening. Where are all these people coming from? His hand drifts to his thigh where he has his blade in a holster, glamoured out of sight of the mundanes. He holds the hilt in his hand but he’s powerless to do much else. A threat would be able to take him out before he even has the chance to pull the blade out and if he miscalculates, he might end up cutting an arm off from a mundane passing by.

Alec is going to die and they are going to find his body from a Spanish morgue, wearing a blindfold that’s magically glued to his head.

This is not how Alec envisioned his death.

Someone grabs his shoulder and Alec jerks, his heart beating so wildly its almost drowning out the noise around him. He tries to pull away but the grip is strong.

“It’s me,” a familiar voice says hurriedly. The grip loosens and there are hands on both of his shoulders now, stopping his movement. “It’s me. Alexander, calm down.”

Alec does. Because that’s Magnus’ voice and Magnus found him and he won’t die an embarrassing death - at least not today. He still feels uneasy with his sight blocked and Magnus must see it, because Alec can hear him muttering something before there’s a careful touch on his temples and Magnus is reaching to the back of the blindfold to untie it.

Alec sighs from relief at the first rays of light he can see, before he has to squeeze his eyes shut again to block the sudden brightness. All the while Magnus is gently stroking his face, the scarf magicked away.

“I’m so sorry,” he says quietly, regret clear in his tone. “I am so so sorry Alexander.”

“It’s fine,” Alec says, because this isn’t Magnus’ fault. “I’m fine.”

He’s a Shadowhunter, he shouldn’t be so shaken over something so small.

But his body betrays him and his hands shake at his sides. He realises one of them is still holding the hilt of his blade and he relaxes the fingers.

“Let’s find a place where we can sit, shall we?” Magnus asks and takes Alec’s hand, leading him through the mass of people. Even with his sight back, Alec holds on tightly.

For the first time Alec pays attention to where they are. It seems to be a wide promenade full of people, a park to their left and a harbour to their right. Alec looks at the clear blue water before Magnus guides him to the park where they find a vacant bench. The park is right next to the promenade but it feels like it’s miles apart, the tall palm trees and trees with colorful flowers creating a barrier that separates them from the crowd walking by.

There are a few people in the park as well, but they are minding their own business, sitting on benches of their own and eating ice cream, or taking pictures of the beautiful plants. Alec looks around before he turns towards Magnus who is already looking at him with a guilty look on his face.

Magnus holds Alec’s hand in both of his, rubbing the back of his palm with comforting pressure.

“It was an accident,” Alec says, knowing Magnus well enough to be able to have an educated guess on what his boyfriend is thinking. “It sucked but the only person we can blame is the idiot who wasn’t looking at where he was going.”

Alec realises the irony of his statement a bit too late, but Magnus doesn’t comment on it beyond a raised eyebrow.

“You were against the idea from the start,” Magnus says, as if admitting that Alec was right and that this was a horrible idea.

“But I agreed because I understood why you wanted to do this,” Alec says. “I wanted to do this. Things were going well until the man separated us.”

“I should have taken that into consideration,” Magnus argues. “What was I thinking, leaving you vulnerable like that-”

“Magnus stop,” Alec says gently. Magnus might be right, maybe they should have put more thought to this, but they aren’t able to change it now. What they can do is enjoy the rest of their date.

“I should have realized that too,” Alec continues, making sure that he’s looking Magnus to the eyes as he says his next words. “I don’t blame you.”

Magnus closes his eyes and takes a steadying breath. “Okay.”

“You believe me?” Alec makes sure, because he doesn’t want this to linger in the background. He wants to put it in the past and enjoy the rest of their date.

“I do,” Magnus agrees, opening his eyes and squeezing Alec’s hand.

“Good,” Alec says and smiles. “Can we still go through with the date? But without a blindfold this time?”

“Of course,” Magnus says and stands up, pulling Alec up with him. “I’d love to.”

Alec can’t resist the smile on Magnus’ lips and he leans down, kissing them quickly.

“Lead the way.”

They start walking again, finding their way back to the promenade. Like last time, they are walking close to each other with their hands held together, but this time it’s without an ounce of nervousness.

“One more thing,” Alec says after they’ve walked for a while.

“Yes?” Magnus asks, looking at Alec on his side.

“Can we agree that no one can ever find out about this?” Alec asks. “Especially not my sister or my brother.”

“Agreed,” Magnus says, and they both laugh.

It might not have felt like a perfect date at the time, but as years passed and the time turned the memories golden, it was brought up more than once when the other suggested a surprise. They were able to laugh at it and forget the bad details.

Because even a bad date can be a good one when you’re in the right company.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me from [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


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